How to Avoid a DUI Arrest in Georgia

You are not required to perform roadside gymnastics.

Police officers are taught to request "field sobriety tests." In Georgia, these are strictly voluntary, with no penalty for declining. You probably would not pass these tests on your best day, at least in the way they are "scored" by the police.

You are not required to answer questions about drinking.

It is illegal to give the police a false statement, but there is no penalty for politely declining to answer any of their questions. In Georgia, your silence - even before arrest - cannot be used against you in court.

You have the right to refuse a breath test or blood test.

If you are arrested, you have the right in Georgia to refuse further testing. Most people do not feel impaired at .08, so you might not feel comfortable giving a blood or breath sample. But be aware that the penalty for refusing is a potential one-year license suspension, subject to a hearing.

After taking the State's test, you have the right to tests of your own.

If you do submit to the breath test and it indicates you are .08 or greater, you have the absolute right to an independent test or tests, and the police have to immediately accommodate your reasonable request. You are entitled to another breath test on a different machine, or a blood or urine test at a nearby medical facility of your choice, or all three! The independent test is at your expense.

You have the right to plead NOT GUILTY.

If you think you have been wrongly accused of DUI, you have the right, of course, to hire a good lawyer and contest the charges. In Georgia, that includes the right to a jury trial. And there is no burden on you to prove your innocence - the State must prove every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt in order to obtain a conviction.